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Ralph Nader’s "People Have the Power Tour"
On Sunday, June 30, Ralph Nader will bring his "People Have the Power Tour" to the New Haven Coliseum to support public financing of campaigns, worker’s rights, corporate reform, environmental protection, living wages and single-payer health care in Connecticut. Sponsors include Campus Greens, WWUH (91.3 FM), and the CT Energy Co-op, who will power the event using green, renewable electricity.
"The purpose of these events this year is to bring people together in cities across America, which is especially critical now," said Nader, the 2000 Green Party Presidential Candidate. "Progressive people and organizations in Connecticut must work together. Civil liberties and the nation’s major priorities, for today and tomorrow’s generations of Americans, are at risk in Congress and the Executive Branch. All social justice successes in our history have started with a mobilization of citizenry. We must further this grand tradition and strive to ensure that the values of democracy, law enforcement, respect for human rights and the protection of all innocent people prevail here both at home and around the world."
Internationally acclaimed singer/ songwriter Patti Smith, comedian D.L. Hughley, actress/ comedienne Janeane Garofalo, host of Democracy Now Amy Goodman, spoken-word artist Jello Biafra, Hartford City Councilwoman and Green Party member Elizabeth Horton Sheff, Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Bill Curry, along with national entertainers, special guest performers, and local speakers working for progressive social change will join Nader during the event.
New Haven is the 11th stop of the 2001-02 season on this nationwide tour. The tour began in Portland, Oregon on August 4, 2001, where more than 7,500 people attended the rally. Since Portland, the tour has packed venues in San Francisco, Phoenix, Boston, Cleveland, Toledo, Austin, Atlanta and Tampa. Nader likened this current tour to the "Super Rallies" he headlined during his bid for the Presidency in 2000. Those rallies filled nine major arenas, from Portland’s Memorial Coliseum to New York’s Madison Square Garden, with turnouts far larger than those of the major party candidates. This event is being sponsored by Nader's newest organization, Democracy Rising, which seeks to unify people "in the cause of freeing American politics from the grip of corporate interests," Nader said.
The Washington, DC, New York City and Danbury, CT Independent Media Centers will have an Internet radio station streaming live in "hi-fi" and broadcasting worldwide from the event.
The rally at the New Haven Coliseum begins at 5 p.m. (doors open and live music at 3 p.m.) on Sunday, June 30. More than 100 Connecticut community organizations will have information tables to distribute literature and solicit signatures for a variety of progressive causes. General admission tickets are $11 in advance, $15 at the door; children (12 and under) will be admitted free, with plenty of entertainment provided. For more info on purchasing tickets or to volunteer, call 203-562-5000, or check out <www.DemocracyRising.org>.
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